


The New Years Cake Mishap

by tenelkadjo



Category: SHINee, SuperM (Korea Band)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:55:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28370493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tenelkadjo/pseuds/tenelkadjo
Summary: Busy with school and work, you hurry to your favourite bakery to place a cake order for New Years Eve. But someone new is working there and you find yourself drawn to him even when your cake plans crumble.
Relationships: Lee Taemin/Reader
Kudos: 4





	The New Years Cake Mishap

**Author's Note:**

> this story is fiction and not meant to represent Taemin in any way, shape or form.

The snow is coming down gently, covering everything in a soft blanket, twinkling underneath the streetlights. Bringing your coat tighter around your body, you scurry down the cobblestones towards the bakery. Between work and school, placing an order for a New Year’s cake completely slipped your mind. Now, minutes before they close for the night, you are hoping that time hasn’t run out.

Your hand reaches for the door handle at the same time you slip on a puddle. Waving your hands wildly, you bring your open palms against the door and managed to steady yourself at the last possible second. However, the doors are made of glass and you know that whoever is working just saw you make an ass of yourself. _Wonderful,_ you think glumly, yanking the door open.

The warmth of the bakery washes over you immediately. The place is quaint, and you often stop by after work for coffee and a treat. The display case is lined with desserts and tarts – all of them look delicious and beautifully decorated.

Behind the counter, however, is someone new. You have come here enough to know everyone who works here but this figure is unfamiliar to you. Judging by the look on his face, he has seen you almost fall headfirst into the door.

“Hi,” You say breathlessly, approaching the counter.

“Good evening.” The man says formally.

Up this close, it hits you just how attractive he is. He is tall, lean yet muscular, evident even through the uniform, black hair swept back out of his face, plump lips and facial features that looked almost perfectly sculpted. The sight of someone so handsome suddenly makes you feel even more foolish for almost careening into the door and you find yourself pushing a lock of hair behind your ear and running your fingers down your coat to smooth out any creases.

“Are you new here?” You ask, the cake order forgotten momentarily, “I haven’t seen you before.”

“Oh, yes. I just started here this week,” He taps his name tag, “I’m Taemin.”

“Nice to meet you,” You say, telling him your name, “This place is great. I come here a lot.” You cut yourself off, worried about rambling.

Taemin smiles easily, and you can feel a blush creeping across your cheeks. “I suppose I’ll always know when you’re coming then.”

“Excuse me?” You aren’t following.

He gestures towards the door. “If the glass is broken on the door. I’ll know I missed you.”

_He’s teasing me,_ you think, both embarrassed and yet happy that he won’t forget you due to your entrance. “Oh. Yeah. Well,” You clear your throat, something witty to say failing to pop in your head, “There was a puddle.” You say lamely.

“Snow puddles have defeated me far too many times,” Taemin leans forward slightly, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, “On the way to my interview, I slipped on one and had to pretend I wasn’t limping in here.”

“Were you alright?” Your eyes widen slightly, concerned about the impact of such a fall.

“I got the job, didn’t I?” Leaning across the counter, you can make out the depth of his eyes, the scent of cinnamon clinging to him, the way his hair catches the light. Your throat is tight at the proximity of someone so handsome and as you struggle to reply, Taemin winks at you before returning to his original position.

The wink leaves you completely flustered, so when he asks, “So, what can I get for you?” It takes you a few seconds to kick your brain into gear.

“I need to place a cake order for New Years Eve.” You open your bag, trying to find the sheet of paper that your mom had written the order on.

“Oh, ah,” Taemin chews on his lip for a moment, “The deadline for New Years cakes has passed.”

Your head snaps up, mouth open slightly, having placed the order on the counter, “What?”

He looks apologetic, pointing to a sign next to the register that you completely missed because you were so distracted by him.

“The deadline was yesterday?” You remark after reading the sign, inwardly kicking yourself, “Damn it.”

“I mean, if you need a cake, you can probably get one at the grocery store still.”

You wrinkle your nose, “My mom gets a cake from this bakery every year for her party. She’s very particular about it. It’s like…tradition. Even if I got a generic cake, it just wouldn’t be the same…” A sigh escapes your lips, “I guess it’s better than nothing though.”

“I don’t even have an extra cake to sell you, sorry. Between Christmas and New Years, we are clean out.” He isn’t wrong – on closer inspection, there are no cakes to be seen in the display cases.

“It’s okay. It’s my fault. Lost track of time.” You know your mom will be disappointed about the cake, and guilt is beginning to eat away at you.

“Why don’t I get you something else? Do you want a coffee?” Taemin offers, “Or a hot chocolate?”

“I’ll take a hot chocolate, thanks.”

Taemin turns around. Even though you know you messed up with the cake, you find yourself trailing the curve of his neck, the shape of his jaw. How conflicted you feel right now – torn between guilt over the cake mishap and being flustered by the new guy at the bakery.

“Do you like working here so far?” You ask, wanting to talk to him more, dreading going home with the bad news and not wanting to go back into the cold.

“It’s nice. The hours are flexible, and I like learning about designing cakes here.” Taemin turns back around, sliding the hot chocolate in a to-go cup towards you.

You reach for it, “Have you done any orders yet?”

A bashful look crosses his face, gives a small shake of his head, “Oh, no. I’m not good enough.”

Your fingers brush against Taemin’s as you take the cup. The touch jolts you, awakens the butterflies in your stomach. “I bet you are.”

He smiles then, a bright one that makes him shine. Your heart skips a beat. “You’re flattering me.”

“Am not.” You reply and his smile grows larger.

Ah, the blush has returned to your cheeks. Embarrassed, you pull out your wallet to pay.

Taemin gives a small shake of his head, “Don’t worry about it.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to get you in trouble.”

“You won’t.” He says in a tone as warm as the hot chocolate.

“Well,” You pick up the cup, “I should get going.”

He nods, “Nice meeting you.”

After a quick good-bye, you are back into the cold. With a shiver, you take a sip of the hot chocolate, taking off towards delivering the bad news about the cake. Yet your worry has diminished after meeting Taemin. So distracted are you by thoughts of him, you realize halfway home you forgot the cake plans at the bakery.

*

Midnight looms and the grocery store cake is on display, haunting you throughout the night. Your mom took the news as best as she could, but it was evident the loss of a proper bakery cake bummed her out.

You are outside, getting fresh air, staring up at the sky. Some fireworks have begun to go off, illuminating the sky in beautiful colors. Everything is covered in a thick blanket of snow, which twinkles under the moonlight. At midnight, the cake is supposed to be cut…you hate that you let your mom down in this.

You are about to start brooding about the damned cake again when you hear your mom let out a loud squeal from inside. Alarmed, you turn around and peer through the window.

To your utter surprise, Taemin is standing in the living room. A cluster of people have surrounded him. You open the door to the living room to figure out what is going on.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Your mom asks when she sees you, nudging you happily. “Making me worry!”

You glance at Taemin, who is holding something in a white box. He nods at you, eyes twinkling. _Go along with it,_ he seems to be saying. “Yeah, it was a…surprise.” You say, still confused.

Your mom motions for Taemin to follow to the dining room, where the table is covered in snacks, with the sad looking cake in the middle. In one swoop, your mom moves it to the kitchen. Taemin puts the white box in the center and opens it up.

You gasp, leaning forward. Inside the box is a cake exactly like the design your mom wanted. Trails of gold edible glitter cover the cake like confetti, swirls of pink and blue entwine around the words Happy New Year, and a small snowman is sculpted out of fondant, wearing a tiny party hat. The frosting work is subtle yet beautiful – almost too beautiful to eat.

The crowd that has gathered is making noises of approval. You look at Taemin out of the corner of your eye, desperately needing a moment alone with him to ask what in the world is going on. You knew you had forgotten the plans for the cake at the bakery, but he said orders were done which could only mean…

Your mom returns to take photos of the cake. Midnight draws closer and there is an energy in the air now, a live wire running through the party. You take this chance to motion for Taemin to follow you outside, back into the cold air, underneath the fireworks.

“I hope I didn’t overstep,” Taemin says before you could speak, “With making the cake and coming here. The plans and address were on the note.”

“That was your work?” You ask, surprised.

He looks down at his feet, shy, before running his fingers through his hair. “I know I’m still learning but…”

“No,” You interrupt quickly, “No, that cake was stunning. Really.”

“When you left the paper behind, I took a look at it and I just…well, I really liked the idea.” He cuts himself off, falling silent for a moment, “I hope me showing up wasn’t a problem.”

“No, you saved my ass. My mom was bummed out about the cake. Saying it was a surprise was quick thinking on your part.”

Silence between the two of you again. The fireworks are going off faster now, the colors reflecting off the snow. Taemin shoves his hands in the pockets of his jacket, his hair dusted with snow, looking up at the sky. Your heart is beating quickly. He had gone out of his way to make a beautiful cake, came here to deliver it before midnight, saved the party, helped you out…

You swallow hard, “Are you going to stay for the rest of the party?”

“Oh, would that be alright? I don’t want to intrude.”

“Uh, you made that amazing cake, you can stay for the party. How did you even have time to make it with all the bakery orders? It’s so busy there this time of year.”

He looks at you now, a small smile crossing his face. “I stayed late at the bakery and made it there. You won’t tell, will you?” Taemin leans forward, the scent of cinnamon surrounds you once more, and his voice lowers. “You’d get me in trouble if you tell.”

“Oh, I would never dream of getting Taemin, the king of cakes, in trouble.” You joke.

“Now you’re just teasing me.” He is closer now; your face is tilted back slightly to look at him.

“I don’t understand,” You admit, “Why you would go out of your way to make that cake and drop it off for me?”

The countdown to midnight begins. Inside the house, the crowd is chanting loudly, the last ten seconds of the year slipping through your fingers.

“I told you,” Even though his voice is soft, you can still hear him – it is as though the noise of the party has faded to the background – “I liked the cake idea. And I like you.”

Your heart thrums loudly in your chest as the words register.

“May I kiss you?” Taemin asks quietly.

“Yes.” You reply immediately, breathlessly.

The countdown hits zero, the crowd swells with cheers of Happy New Year and Taemin brings his lips to yours. The kiss is electric, his lips against yours tender, his hand cups your cheek, brushing his thumb against your skin as it goes on. The fireworks explode all around you, the sky a million different colors, the snow glowing from it all.

When the kiss finally breaks, Taemin leaves his hand against your cheek, looking into your eyes. You want to speak but are tongue tied.

“Could I see you again sometime?” He asks, as if he cannot hear how quickly your heart beats, somehow does not realize how smitten you are with him.

You nod and he smiles – the same bright and comforting smile that you are falling for.

“Happy New Year.” He whispers, as the fireworks bath the two of you in different vivid colors, the snow swirling around your feet.

“Happy New Year, Taemin.” You say quietly.

He slips his hand into yours and together, the two of you watch the fireworks, allowing the peaceful feeling to settle in around you and when Taemin gives your hand a squeeze, you know that this year is going to be very different with him in it.

**Author's Note:**

> if you like my work consider subbing to my patreon!  
> https://www.patreon.com/lylabanks
> 
> you can also buy me a coffee!  
> https://ko-fi.com/ryohazuki


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